Don’t get me wrong, I like the idea of solar. We installed solar on our business and I plan to install solar on my home one day. But, before you install $20,000 ($7,000 after rebates) worth of solar PV panels on the roof, please perform an analysis of your current energy consumption habits. Check out what I did at the business to be more efficient.

Lengthwise Brewing Company, my workplace, installed a small solar system that produces 1.2 kWh per hour for five hours a day. After a quick investigation, I found that the system would not even provide enough energy to power the 25 track lights that provide ambiance lighting! Each track light bulb was a 50 watt halogen bulb. Therefore, the math goes like this: